UBC  ATSC 201 - Meteorology of Storms

previous week . . . . next week

Week 3
15 - 21 Sep 2025
Monday (D1)
Finish Homework from previous week.
Be sure your name, student number, and HW# are at top of every page.
Deadline:  Submit a pdf of your homework any time or date BEFORE the start of class, 2 pm Monday Pacific Time.
Morning
Midday
2 PM Pacific Time
Class:
  1. Turn in HW electronically before class starts.
  2. Discussion & interaction on topics from last week (bring your clicker).
  3. Web-based Slide show/tutorial on radar image interpretation, including on our Resources page.
Notes to Instructor:  Bring to class:
- Magnetron.		 Topic: Radar basics & image interpretation
   Textbook p219, section 8.3.1, p246 the one dBZ paragraph containing eq. (8.27), sections 8.3.2.2 - 8.3.3.2 , & 8.3.3.4. .
Learning Goals
At the end of this section, you should be able to:
  1. Summarize how a weather radar operates.
  2. Interpret radar reflectivity info to diagnose rainfall intensity.  (Z-R relationships)
  3. Explain the range and velocity limitations of weather radar.
  4. Find real-time radar images and loops on the web.
  5. Interpret the types of information in a radar reflectivity display.
  6. Look at a radar reflectivity image and determine thunderstorm location, movement, type, rainfall intensity.
  7. Interpret Doppler radar images to estimate wind velocities and identify tornado vortex signatures (TVS), mesocyclones, downbursts/gust-fronts, and supercells.

Evening
Readings:
  • S.Ch2. Section 2.0. p30-37. p39-45.
Warm-up Questions:
Do quiz W03 D2 online on Canvas.
Topic: Atmospheric Radiation
    Textbook sections 2.0 & p30-37 & 39-45.
Learning Goals
At the end of this section, you should be able to:
  1. Explain how sunlight reaching the earth is affected by the date, and relate this to solar declination and elevation angles.
  2. Convert between dynamic and kinematic fluxes.
  3. Apply principles from basic physics to determine the amount of radiation to and from the earth in the two main wavelength bands of interest:  visible and infrared.
  4. Explain the meaning of the terms in the surface radiation budget.
Tuesday (D2)
Morning
Midday
Evening
10 PM Pacific time
Deadline to finish warm-up Qs.
Wed (D3)
.
Morning
Midday
2 PM Pacific Time
Class: 
  1. Discussion & interaction on topics from readings (bring your clicker).
  2. Interactive discussion of how you see movement of the sun. 
  3. Discussion of significance of solar energy in driving storms & other weather.
 

Evening
Readings:
  • S.Ch10. p289-297, p300-301 (top half).
Warm-up Questions:
Do quiz W03 D4 online on Canvas.
 Topic: Forces Acting on the Air
    Textbook sections p289-297, p300-301 (top half).
Learning Goals
At the end of this section, you should be able to:
  1. List the horizontal forces that can act on the air.
  2. Explain how to quantitatively determine the magnitude and direction of each force.
  3. Use weather maps to qualitatively to anticipate the direction and relative magnitudes of many of the forces.
  4. Explain how Coriolis force works.
Thurs (D4)
Morning
Midday
Evening
10 PM Pacific time
Deadline to finish warm-up Qs.
Friday (D5)
.
Morning
Midday
2 PM Pacific Time
Class:
  1. Discussion & interaction on topics from readings (bring your clicker).
  2. Discussion of height maps vs. pressure maps.
  3. Explanation of Coriolis force as an expression of centrifugal force.

Evening
End-of-Week Numerical Homework Exercises.  
(Due at start of Monday's class.)

Homework 3:  (don't forget to use a computer spreadsheet for your HWs)
S.Ch2:  A5g ,  A13g,  A15g.
S.Ch8:  A12g ,  A13g ,  A18g ,  A19g.
S.Ch10:  A1g ,  A5g ,  A6c ,  A8g
(For exercise Ch10:A1, you may draw it by hand electronically on your spreadsheet, or draw it on paper, photograph it with CamScanner, and then electronically paste the image into your spreadsheet.)

Pre-readings for Monday's tutorial next week on hodographs: Ch 14: p509-520.

 Learning Goals
At the end of this section, you should be able to:
  1. Apply topics covered earlier this week to compute number answers & infer their significance.  
  2. Enhance your skill in using computer spreadsheets for tables and graphs.
Saturday(D6)
.
Sunday (D7)
.

previous week . . . . next week


Notes: The textbook for this course is Stull, 2017: "Practical Meteorology: An Algebra-based Survey of Atmospheric Science", available for free online, at  https://www.eoas.ubc.ca/books/Practical_Meteorology/ .

The reading and homework assignments use the following abbreviations to indicates various parts of this textbook:

Legend:
Ch = chapter.
A = "Apply" exercises.
p = page number.
S = Stull, 2017:  "Practical Meteorology" book (online).
s = "Synthesize" exercises.
E = "Evaluate & Analyze" exercises.